-^-for posterity-^-

all singing, all dancing, all glittery costumes. the cambodian new year has arrived.

i never knew there were so many new years to celebrate. we only found out about this one at the last minute. we were rushed over to the big presentation and show and happily sat in the front row. to say that we were under-dressed would be a blatant understatement.

the show began with much fanfare. there were speeches and introductions and more speeches and lots of clapping. we were introduced as some of the important people.

the dances and songs were wonderful. they were passionate and full of movement. the costumes were made to glitter and shine in as many ways as possible. the women wore thick makeup and their hair was elaborately hung from the back of their head. the men wore a variety of costumes but they all glittered and sparkled.

the dances required everyone to get up and move about. we were ushered onto the stage a number of times (even though we were in t-shirts) and were taught the different cambodian dances. they all rely heavily on the hands.

in a slower song women move their hands up and down at different times. they hold their thumb to their ring finger as they move their hand up and then release it gracefully and flexibly as they move their hands down. their hands become very sensual. the men have a much easier job of it all (as is usual). we only had to raise one hand while the other fell. you would raise your hand with the palm up and then turn it over as it fell. you raised and lowered your hands to the beat of the music as you shuffled about.

another dance required men and women to walk back and forth while waving their hands like bird’s wings. the women would put their arms by their sides and stretch their hands out flat and pointing away from their body. they would then seductively move their hands up and down like a bird. that was the first part. the second part involved moving their flapping hands towards their mid-section. they crossed them and continued flapping. this was done (as far as i could tell) opposite of the men. the men were supposed to flap their hands in front of their midsection while the women had their hands flapping at their sides and then both would switch. there were always hands flapping at the midsection of someone and always hands flapping at the hips of someone.

the last dance didn’t appear to be cambodian. it looked like some sort of modern, gyrating type of dance.

the night ended and my t-shirt was soaked through. we had a small meal and brought in the new year with some more singing.